Counting and marking device

ABSTRACT

A marking device for the wrapper in a cigarette-making machine including a photoelectric device for counting cigarettes at the discharge end of the machine arranged to energize an electromagnet which moves a pencil into momentary contact with the wrapper tape within the machine. When a preselected number of cigarettes has been counted, a drum having a peripheral lug rotates to close a switch which energizes the electromagnet.

United States Patent Inventor Appl. No.

Filed Patented Assignee COUNTING AND MARKING DEVICE 5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

U.S.C1 131/21 B, 198/40, 235/92, 250/224 Int. Cl. A24c 05/32 FieldoISearch l31/21,21

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,393,525 10/1921 Grupe -131/21 1,998,132 4/1935 Geffcken et a1. 235/98 2,516,915 8/1950 Reeves 235/92 2,526,441 10/1950 Whitmore et a1. 235/98 2,594,337 4/1952 Noe l 235/98 2,999,520 9/1961 Lowman 235/98 3,016,464 1/1962 Bailey 250/224 X 3,180,994 4/1965 Rottmann 250/224 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,220,846 1/1960 France 866,213 4/1961 Great Britain Primary Examiner-Joseph S. Reich AnomeySparrow & Sparrow a preselected number of cigarettes has been counted, a drum.

having a peripheral lug rotates to close a switch which energizes the electromagnet.

PATENTED DEC 7 IB'II sum 3 or 3 Fig ./ Sp n-ow 1m! Qp ATTORNEYS COUNTING AND MARKING DEVICE This application is a continuation of copending application Ser. No. 835,889, filed on June 12, 1969 and now abandoned, which latter is a continuationof parent application Sen-No. 325,570 filed Nov. 22, 1963 and now abandoned.

The present invention relates to an apparatus which is designed for the purpose of counting and marking objects produced by the cutting of a continuous rod which passes out of a forming or making machine and in particular for the purpose of counting and marking cigarettes produced by a machine for forming or making cigarettes in a continuous roll or rod of cut tobacco.

Specific reference will be made in the following description to cigarettes alone, although it will be understood thatthe invention is also intended to cover in a general manner all objects of the type referred to above.

It is frequently necessary in a forming machine to determine the number of cigarettes which are manufactured in a given period of time. Such a procedure is of advantage in particular when it is necessary to check a production in an accurate manner, to isolate a predetermined number of cigarettes or to extract samples at a givenfrequency.

The counting of cigarettes in unitary sequence permits the possibility of obtaining useful information in order to ensure regularity of operation of the machine. The control of regularity often makes it necessary to determine the value of the mean weight, either in order to set the machine to a given weight or in order to examine the dispersion of collective weights.

The said mean weights can be measured in respect of batches of 100 cigarettes, for example. In point of fact, experience has proved that the longest part of the operation is not the weighing itself but the continuous batching of exactly 100 cigarettes. For this purpose it is necessary to make provision for racks or cups which, by virtue of a geometric positioning of the cigarettes, permit the batching of l cigarettes. The operation which consists in positioning these cigarettes in the tray has always been time consuming. lt is thus difficult to achieve minute-by-minute batching. This in turn gives rise to substantial drawbacks when it proves necessary to adjust the weight of objects produced by a machine to a predetermined value. Valuable time is thus lost on account of the handling operations which have been described above.

It has already been proposed to count the cigarettes produced by a machine by means of a photoelectric cell detector which receives the light emitted by a light source, said source being located opposite the detector with respect to the line of cigarettes which passes out of the machine; and the pulses of said detector correspond to the spacing between cigarettes and actuate an electromagnetic counter.

it has also been proposed in order to inspect the cigarettes produced by a machine to make use of a detector consisting of a projector, the light beam of which is directed towards the cigarettes which move past and which is disposed transversely with respect to their direction of movement, and of a photodiode which receives the light beam reflected by the cigarettes.

To this end, the apparatus in accordance with the invention comprises a reflecting detector in which the axis of the projector and the axis of thephotodiode define a vertical plane, and which is mounted onthe forming machine in such manner that said vertical plane is at right angles to the axes of the objects to be counted along the rectilineal path which said objects follow after cutting of the continuous rod from which said objects are derived.

A device of this type can readily be fitted in position without which have previously been counted one by one. The apparatus permits marking of any number of cigarettes which follow one another in consecutive order, and not necessarily only a last one of a batch.

The marking means in accordance with the invention consists of a marker of the electromagnetic type which is actuated by pulses produced by means which are coupled to the totalizer of the counting system. For that purpose it is proposed to connect a marking unit with the above-mentioned counter, which unit is actuated each time a certain desired number of objects, such as cigarettes, has passed the detecting device, in order to place a mark on such object, for example on the wrapper type, so that the total number of objects between two marked ones represent a standard batch of objects, for example, of cigarettes, which may then be taken off the conveyor at the receiving end, to be weighed, for instance.

The marker can be constituted by an electromagnet with an adjustable core carrying a tracing element which is preferably detachable and coupled to said core by a flexible means forming a damping device.

The pulse which actuates the marker coil can be produced by a capacitor discharge in the winding circuit of said marker by virtue of the closure of a first switch comprising a relay which is controlled by the opening of a second switch, said second switch being actuated by a mechanical device such as a drum of the cam or stud type which is coupled to the totalizer of the counting system.

in the case of the marking of wrapped objects such as cigarettes, the marker is preferably mounted on the path of the band of paper or like material which forms the wrapper, and is mounted upstream with respect to the machine for forming said objects. This mode of assembly makes it possible to prevent any damaging of said objects.

One example of construction of the counting and marking apparatus in accordance with the invention has been illustrated in the accompanying drawings which are given solely by way of example and not in any sense by way of limitation, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of the apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a view in perspective of the counting detector with a part in sectional view. I

FIG. 3 is a detail diagram of the counting and supply circuits of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the marking device. I

The installation which is illustrated in FIG. 1 comprises a cigarette-making machine 1 which delivers an uninterrupted rod 2' from which a flow 2 ofcigarettes is cut. On the path of said flow of cigarettes, immediately after the output of the machine 1, there is placed a reflecting detector 3 which will be described in greater detail hereinafter. The detector 3 is connected by the lead wires 4 and ,4 to the input circuit l which controls a counter (see FIG. 3). The said control is performed through the intermediary of an electronic decatron tube (valve) circuit ll and oftheelectromechanical counter circuit Ill, the supply of current to all the circuits 1, ll and Ill being effected by the circuit lV, all of these circuits being described in greater detail hereinafter.

On the path of the paper 5 which is fed from a bobbin 50 and terminates at the machine 1 so as to provide a wrapping for the cigarettes 2, there is disposed at the level of a paperguiding roller 51 a marking apparatus 6 which is controlled by the summation counter 7 of the counting system through the intermediary of the circuit V and control means Vl.

The counting detector- 3 comprises (as shown in FIG. 2), mounted in a casing 8, on the one hand, a projector 9 which can be set at a variable angle of inclination by means of the elongated slot 10 and the screw 11 and, on the other hand, a photodiode 12. The detector 3 is mounted in the vicinity of the output of the machine 1 in such manner that the axis of the projector 9 and of the diode 12 are in a plane at right angles to the path of the cigarettes 2 and converge on these latter, in such a manner that the cigarettes play the part of convex cylindrical mirrors for the beam of rays emitted by the projector 9 and reflected towards the diode l2.

The variations in voltage of the diode 12 are applied to the input circuit of a counting circuit I. This input circuit l consists of two tubes (valves) l3, l4 and serves for the purpose of providing a square wave shape for the pulses which are transmitted by the diode 12.

The circuit ll consists of an electronic decatron counter tube (valve) 15 similar to the one mentioned in U.S. Pat. 2,516,915 and otherwise commercially obtainable which records the pulses received from the input circuit l and which, at each electronic decade, that is, at l0...l00...l,000, energizes the electromechanical counter 16 of circuit lll through the intermediary of the amplifier tube (valve) 17. The supply circuit lV comprises a transfonner 18, a series of rectifiers 19, the filter circuits 20, energized circuit 21 and supply circuit 22 of the projector 9 to which said supply circuit is connected through the lead wire 23.

The combined assembly of circuits I, ll, Ill and IV of the counter is enclosed in a box 24.

The marker 6 (as shown in FIG. 4) comprises an electromagnet 25 with coil 26 and adjustable core 27. A return spring 28 is interposed between the frame of the electromagnet 25 and a flange 29 of the core 27. The said spring constantly urges the core to the withdrawn position. A marking element, for example a pencil 30 (shown merely schematically in FIG. 1 and in more detail in FIG. 4) is slidably mounted in the sleeve 31 which is inserted in the frame 25 and is coupled to the adjustable core 27 through the intermediary of a spring 32 which serves as a damping device. The said spring 32 is secured at one end to the stud 33 of the pencil 30 and at the other end to a stud 34 formed on the end of a threaded rod 35 which is positionally adjustable by screwing or unscrewing and which is locked by means of the locknut 36.

The operation of the marker6 is controlled by a circuit V consisting of a drum 37 comprising a stud 38 which is made fast for rotation with one of the drums of the summation counter 7. The stud 38 is designed to operate a switch 39 which is mounted in the circuit of a coil 40 similar to the coil 26. The contact blade 41 which is returned by the spring 42 serves as a changeover switch for the purpose of charging a capacitor 43 and discharging this latter in the circuit of the coil 26 of the marker 6. p

A system Vl comprising a manual switch 44 (with pushbutton), an automatic switch 45 and signal lamp 46 controls the supply to the marker.

The operation of the installation which has just been described is as follows:

As long as a cigarette 2 passes beneath the beam of rays emitted by the projector 9 of the detector 3, said rays are accordingly reflected towards the photodiode 12, the resistance of which decreases. The resistance of said photodiode increases when no reflected ray reaches this latter. This is the case at each separation interval between two cigarettes. The changes in voltage which result from these variations in resistance are applied to the input stage I of the counting system.

If the detector 3 is placed in a suitable position, the cigarettes can be spaced apart by approximately 10 millimeters, for example. Taking into account the time of passage of said cigarettes and of said separation interval, the detector which is energized as each cigarette passes transmits to the counting system pulses which will have, for example, a length of thirty-eight thousandths of a second and which are separated from each other by an interval of approximately six thousandths of a second.

The pulses control the electronic decatron tube (valve) 15 of the circuit ll and the number which is indicated by said tube increases each time by one unit.

When the number indicated by the tube 15 has increased by ten units, the electromechanical counter 16 is nergized and moves forward by one step, thereby actuating in its turn the summation counter 7 which indicates the total number of cigarettes which has passed in front of the detector 3.

Depending on the number of cigarettes which it is required to record, a drum 37 is chosen which is designed accordingly.

It has a conventional set of counting drums, for tens, hundreds and thousands. When said drum reaches a predetermined position which corresponds, for example, to 50 cigarettes as enumerated by the counting system, the stud 38 opens the switch 39. The coil 40 no longer attracts the contact blade 41 and, under the action of the spring 42, said contact blade cuts off the supply to the capacitor 43 and causes this latter to discharge in the circuit of the coil 26 of the marker 6, the switch 45 or 44 having been previously closed.

The pulse which is sent into the coil 26 initiates the sudden displacement of the core 27 and therefore of the pencil 30 which accordingly strikes the band of paper 5 and leaves an indication mark thereon.

What is claimed is:

1. ln an apparatus of the characters described, detector means for detecting the passage of substantially cylindrical objects conveyed on a path following the axis thereof, such as objects produced by the cutting of a substantially cylindrical rod, comprising a source of light disposed for providing the beam of light from said source in a plane perpendicular to said axis and for directing said beam towards the lateral surface of said object,

a photoconductor disposed for receiving said light emanating from said source of said light and being reflected by said lateral surface, said photoconductor being illuminated during the passage of each one of said objects, said light beam incident on said photoconductor being interrupted at each passage of a gap between two successive objects, a counting device having a summation counter actuated by pulses provided by said detector, for counting the passage of said cylindrical objects along said axis at a predetermined point and providing a signal when a predetermined quantity of said cylindrical objects have passed said predetermined point, and an electromagnetic marking unit actuated by said summation counter through said signal for applying a mark on said predetermined surface to indicate the passage of said predetermined quantity past said point through actuation of said summation counter.

2. In an apparatus according to claim 1, and said marking unit comprising an adjustable core, a marking element and a damping means coupling said marking element to said core.

3. In an apparatus according to claim 2, and an additional axial rod adjustably mounted in said core, and said damping means comprising a spring secured to said additional rod and to said marking element for detachably coupling said element to said core.

4. In an apparatus according to claim 1, and further comprising a rotating cam-drum coupled to said summation counter, a first circuit means comprising a capacitor, a second circuit means, said capacitor alternately connectable with a source of electric current and with said second circuit means, an electromagnetic marking unit comprising a control winding coupled in series to said second circuit means, and switch means actuated by said cam-drum for connecting alternately said capacitor with said source of electric current for charging said capacitor and with said second circuit means for discharging said capacitor in said control winding thereby actuating said marking unit.

5. In an apparatus for counting and marking wrapped objects, produced by the cutting of a continuous rod for cigarettes, comprising a machine to make said continuous rod, means to feed a band of wrapping material to said machine for wrapping said objects after being cut from said continuous rod, said objects being spaced from each other after being cut from said continuous rod, a photoelectric cell emitting pulses corresponding to the spacing between said objects, and a counting device having a totalizer actuated by said pulses, an electric circuit means controlled by said totalizer, and an electromagnetic marking unit actuated by said electric circuit means and mounted on the path of said band of wrapping material to mark said band in the upstream portion of said machine.

6 t i l 

1. In an apparatus of the characters described, detector means for detecting the passage of substantially cylindrical objects conveyed on a path following the axis thereof, such as objects produced by the cutting of a substantially cylindrical rod, comprising a source of light disposed for providing the beam of light from said source in a plane perpendicular to said axis and for directing said beam towards the lateral surface of said object, a photoconductor disposed for receiving said light emanating from said source of said light and being reflected by said lateral surface, said photoconductor being illuminated during the passage of each one of said objects, said light beam incident on said photoconductor being interrupted at each passage of a gap between two successive objects, a counting device having a summation counter actuated by pulses provided by said detector, for counting the passage of said cylindrical objects along said axis at a predetermined point and providing a signal when a predetermined quantity of said cylindrical objects have passed said predetermined point, and an electromagnetic marking unit actuated by said summation counter through said signal for applying a mark on said predetermined surface to indicate the passage of said predetermined quantity past said point through actuation oF said summation counter.
 2. In an apparatus according to claim 1, and said marking unit comprising an adjustable core, a marking element and a damping means coupling said marking element to said core.
 3. In an apparatus according to claim 2, and an additional axial rod adjustably mounted in said core, and said damping means comprising a spring secured to said additional rod and to said marking element for detachably coupling said element to said core.
 4. In an apparatus according to claim 1, and further comprising a rotating cam-drum coupled to said summation counter, a first circuit means comprising a capacitor, a second circuit means, said capacitor alternately connectable with a source of electric current and with said second circuit means, an electromagnetic marking unit comprising a control winding coupled in series to said second circuit means, and switch means actuated by said cam-drum for connecting alternately said capacitor with said source of electric current for charging said capacitor and with said second circuit means for discharging said capacitor in said control winding thereby actuating said marking unit.
 5. In an apparatus for counting and marking wrapped objects, produced by the cutting of a continuous rod for cigarettes, comprising a machine to make said continuous rod, means to feed a band of wrapping material to said machine for wrapping said objects after being cut from said continuous rod, said objects being spaced from each other after being cut from said continuous rod, a photoelectric cell emitting pulses corresponding to the spacing between said objects, and a counting device having a totalizer actuated by said pulses, an electric circuit means controlled by said totalizer, and an electromagnetic marking unit actuated by said electric circuit means and mounted on the path of said band of wrapping material to mark said band in the upstream portion of said machine. 